Quality through metrics.

The Quality Assurance Unit analyzed 18 months of departmental data regarding the report-audit cycle. Process mapping was utilized to identify milestones in the cycle for measurement. Five milestones were identified in the audit cycle, as follows: (1) time from report receipt in quality assurance to start of audit, (2) total calendar days to audit a report, (3) actual person-hours to perform a report audit, (4) time from completion of audit to issuance of report, and (5) total time a report is in quality assurance. An interrelationship diagraph is a quality tool that is used to identify what activities impact the overall report-auditing process. Once the data collection procedure is defined, a spreadsheet is constructed that captures the data. The resulting information is presented in time charts and bar graphs to visually aid in interpretation and analysis. Using these quality tools and statistical analyses, the Quality Assurance Unit identified areas needing improvement and confirmed or dispelled previous assumptions regarding the report-auditing process. By mapping, measuring, analyzing, and displaying the data, the overall process was examined critically. This resulted in the identification of areas needing improvement and a greater understanding of the report-audit cycle. A further benefit from our increased knowledge was the ability to explain our findings objectively to our client groups. This sharing of information gave impetus to our clients to examine their report-generation process and to make improvements.